Mediating Effect of Brand Image and Satisfaction on Loyalty through Experiential Marketing: A Case Study of a Sugar Heritage Destination

Abstract

While the value of industrial heritage tourism has been recognized, less is known about visitors’ experience formation process and its role along with brand image and satisfaction in predicting their loyalty towards industrial heritage destinations. This study adopted the experiential marketing approach to unveil the experience formation process. It also examined the decisive factors of loyalty, by further exploring the mediating effects of brand image and satisfaction on the relationship between experiences and loyalty. A survey questionnaire method was used to collect data from 399 visitors to a sugar heritage destination in Taiwan. The results supported the application of experiential marking in a sugar heritage destination and suggested that visitors’ experiences are most driven by how they feel, think, and act. The findings also confirmed the causal relationship and indicated the importance of brand image on loyalty formation and its mediating role between experience and loyalty.

Influence of Experiential Marketing to Consumer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intentions: “Goreng” Taichan Restaurants as a Case Study

“…This means that the better the experiential marketing experienced by consumers of "Goreng" Taichan Restaurants, the higher the consumer will get higher satisfaction. The results of this study are in line with several previous studies [15,38,[42][43][44]. This stated that experiential marketing positively affects consumer satisfaction and company business performance [42].…”

“…In experiential marketing, the unique experience of consumers being touched includes values that appeal to instincts and senses, thereby increasing the product's value in the context of their lifestyle [13]. Experiential marketing has been identified as one of the marketing strategies that focus on understanding consumer preferences and motivating them to make purchasing decisions [12][13][14][15].…”

Social Media and Influencer Marketing for Promoting Sustainable Tourism Destinations: The Instagram Case

“…Counting by the number of inbound tourists, the role of the macro-travel influencers seemed to contribute highly to the overall selection process of a sustainable destination due to the high parasocial relations that existed between users and influencers [53]. In addition, according to the findings of the study, the use of Instagram's popular macro-travel influencers could be a strategic tool for boosting the brand image and overall attractiveness of sustainable destinations, as well as achieving high engagement, especially when the influencers use the same tone of voice with their followers [56].…”

“…The loyalty of users is also crucial [56], and many individuals tend to become increasingly interested in the tourist community by reading personal travel evaluations and following Instagram influencers who promote sustainable tourism [6]. This indirect influence seems to accelerate the decision-making process by the followers, as it creates the willingness to choose the same destination [57].…”

“…In this context, a growing interest in social media influencers as drivers in the decisionmaking process of users for sustainable destinations has been recorded [25]. Studies suggest that users proceed more easily in engaging with everyday influencers rather than celebrity influencers, as users consider them to be more relatable and trustworthy figures [56,57]. Other studies [67,68] state that when trust between influencers and users is developing through strong parasocial interaction in social media platforms, the support of the destination's brand awareness is increasing.…”